By Brian Pitts
sports@salisburypost.com
PFAFFTOWN – In another make-or-break battle in the race for first and the No. 1 seed in the Central Piedmont Conference, Davie County came out of the gates in grand style and buried host Reagan 28-7.
This was a showdown for sole possession of second. The win for Davie (8-2, 3-1 CPC) set up a monster collision next week against unbeaten North Davidson (10-0, 4-0). Reagan fell to 7-3, 2-2. North has clinched a share of first, but the Davie-North winner will take the top seed.
Tight end Johnathan Wiseman and cornerback Caleb Mathis were big reasons for Davie’s impressive win. Wiseman parlayed his only two touches (a reception and a run) into a 14-0 lead less than seven minutes into the game, and Mathis had two of Davie’s four interceptions – the first in the end zone and the other at the Davie 1.
On the third play of the game, Cade Carney play-actioned on third-and-3 and lofted a 63-yard touchdown to Wiseman, who streaked past everybody, caught it at the Reagan 42 and soared home.
“They tried to establish that they weren’t going to let us run the ball,” Davie coach Doug Illing said. “They left Wiseman uncovered.”
On Davie’s second possession, Wiseman delivered an unbelievable 60-yard TD run. He took a reverse handoff from Carney and immediately found himself in trouble. It appeared he might lose 8-10 yards, but he broke a tackle and turned on the jets down the sideline.
“We thought it (backfired),” Illing said. “They did a good job of sniffing it out. But Wiseman did a better job of not getting tackled.”
Carney (58 yards on 12 carries) was held under 100 rushing yards for just the second time. He compensated by passing for 154 yards. He was 0 for 8 passing in the first eight games. He took over as the full-time QB last week, and now he’s legitimized himself as a thrower, going 9 of 17 for 204 yards over two games – with no interceptions.
On Davie’s third offensive series, Carney completed a bubble screen to Jae-Re Peebles on third-and-16. Peebles did the rest, breaking a tackle and roaring 40 yards to the Reagan 3. That set up Carney’s 3-yard burst for an astonishing 21-0, first-quarter lead.
“He’s never been a quarterback, but he’s worked hard at it and it shows,” Illing said. “He’s just a complete player.”
It was a night to remember for Mathis. With Reagan at the Davie 33 and the score 7-0, JaShawn Joyner went deep to Caleb Anthony. Mathis intercepted in the end zone.
Mathis came through again on third-and-goal at the Davie 6, intercepting at the Davie 1 and returning it 21 yards to preserve the 21-0 cushion.
Reagan cut it 21-7 but Davie kept making big plays, with A.J. Blaskievich deflecting a third-quarter pass and Corvonn Peebles making a diving pick at the Davie 8.
Kenyan Tatum got a pick on the game’s final play, giving Davie nine INTs of Joyner in two years.